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Volume 32, Issue 5 e2584
ARTICLE

Predator–prey landscapes of large sharks and game fishes in the Florida Keys

Lucas P. Griffin

Corresponding Author

Lucas P. Griffin

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Correspondence

Lucas P. Griffin

Email: [email protected]

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Grace A. Casselberry

Grace A. Casselberry

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

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Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri

Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

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Alejandro Acosta

Alejandro Acosta

South Florida Regional Lab, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Marathon, Florida, USA

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Aaron J. Adams

Aaron J. Adams

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Miami, Florida, USA

Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

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Steven J. Cooke

Steven J. Cooke

Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Alex Filous

Alex Filous

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

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Claudia Friess

Claudia Friess

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

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Tristan L. Guttridge

Tristan L. Guttridge

Saving the Blue, Cooper City, Florida, USA

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Neil Hammerschlag

Neil Hammerschlag

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA

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Vital Heim

Vital Heim

Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, Bimini, The Bahamas

Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

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Danielle Morley

Danielle Morley

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

South Florida Regional Lab, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Marathon, Florida, USA

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Mitchell J. Rider

Mitchell J. Rider

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA

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Gregory B. Skomal

Gregory B. Skomal

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

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Matthew J. Smukall

Matthew J. Smukall

Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, Bimini, The Bahamas

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Andy J. Danylchuk

Andy J. Danylchuk

Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

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Jacob W. Brownscombe

Jacob W. Brownscombe

Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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First published: 25 March 2022
Citations: 5

Handling Editor: Paul K. Dayton

Lucas P. Griffin and Grace A. Casselberry share co-first authorship and contributed equally to this work.

Funding information: Bonefish & Tarpon; Ocean Tracking Network; NOAA OMNS Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship; UMass Graduate School Dissertation Fieldwork Grant; PADI Foundation; Disney Conservation Fund; Save Our Seas Foundation; Herbert W. Hoover Foundation; Batchelor Foundation

Abstract

Interspecific interactions can play an essential role in shaping wildlife populations and communities. To date, assessments of interspecific interactions, and more specifically predator–prey dynamics, in aquatic systems over broad spatial and temporal scales (i.e., hundreds of kilometers and multiple years) are rare due to constraints on our abilities to measure effectively at those scales. We applied new methods to identify space-use overlap and potential predation risk to Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) and permit (Trachinotus falcatus) from two known predators, great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) and bull (Carcharhinus leucas) sharks, over a 3-year period using acoustic telemetry in the coastal region of the Florida Keys (USA). By examining spatiotemporal overlap, as well as the timing and order of arrival at specific locations compared to random chance, we show that potential predation risk from great hammerhead and bull sharks to Atlantic tarpon and permit are heterogeneous across the Florida Keys. Additionally, we find that predator encounter rates with these game fishes are elevated at specific locations and times, including a prespawning aggregation site in the case of Atlantic tarpon. Further, using machine learning algorithms, we identify environmental variability in overlap between predators and their potential prey, including location, habitat, time of year, lunar cycle, depth, and water temperature. These predator–prey landscapes provide insights into fundamental ecosystem function and biological conservation, especially in the context of emerging fishery-related depredation issues in coastal marine ecosystems.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the results in this study were shared through iTAG and are archived through the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN, https://members.oceantrack.org/OTN/projects). OTN dictates data be released after 2 years following the expiration of any given tag. Additional support and access can be provided directly via tag owners: tarpon, permit, and great hammerheads tagged by UMass and Carleton U (https://members.oceantrack.org/OTN/project?ccode=BTTFLK), great hammerheads and bull sharks tagged by BBFSF (https://members.oceantrack.org/OTN/project?ccode=V2LBBFSF), and great hammerheads and bull sharks tagged by U. Miami (https://members.oceantrack.org/OTN/project?ccode=V2LURB).